28 February 2009

"one, two, five!" "three, sir!"

so what happened with four?


The word "four" experienced a linguistic evolutionary leap that makes it significantly younger in English and different from other Indo-European languages.

22 February 2009

Rock me, sexy Jesus


Hamlet 2 was mostly enjoyable, though i thought it did better when it was recalling School of Rock, and not so much when it was recalling Waiting for Guffman. Steve Coogan's character was a bit over the top at times, though I suppose I understand the need for it. Catherine Keener was excellent, Melonie Diaz was a revelation, and Elisabeth Shue was perfect every second she was on screen.

Of course, the stage production of Hamlet 2 was near the end of the movie, and it was pretty much hysterical. Worth the wait, I reckon, though I further reckon the wait could easily have been made 10 minutes less. Kudos to whoever wrote the catchy tunes, as I wake this morning, "Rock me, rock me, rock me, sexy Jesus" is still running through my head.

18 February 2009

joke of the day

Knock-knock... Who's there?
Knock-knock... Who's there?
Knock-knock... Who's there?

Phillip Glass.


-

08 February 2009

the software strikes back

just tried a search on a vbulletin forum. i was greeted with this message:

Sorry - no matches. Please try some different terms. %1$s

did vbulletin just call me an ass?

sidewall vs. fuel filler door

i've always followed the vehicle manufacturer's suggestion for tire pressure, and used the sidewall max pressure value only to ensure it's not lower than what's inside the fuel filler door (or door jamb).

now i'm reading many suggestions @ fred's tdi forum about ignoring what's written on the car and going with 80-85% of the max printed on the sidewall. seem some are even exceeding that.

sounds crazy to me, but i'm willing to be edumacated.

fwiw, my current (winter) tires are Dunlop Winter Sport 3D (max pressure 50 psi) and my other set (all-season) are Goodyear Eagle RSA (max pressure 51 psi). i usually run 30-32 psi, based on what's written on the car.

am i being too conservative? is there a world of better handling and mileage awaiting me?

06 February 2009

i am a courier

yesterday, i was downtown visiting my financial advisor. when checking in with the security guard, he asked if i was a courier. i am not, and told him so. after getting my entry sticker, i asked him why he asked.

he indicated it was my over-the-shoulder-messenger-type bag.

"is that really it?", i wondered. i certainly didn't look like i worked in the building, what with my jeans, boots and now-ancient Carhartt coat. perhaps it was my knit hat or my partial beard.

....

in the elevator back down, two women got on. as we neared the lobby, i started putting on my ear guard, hat, gloves, etc. When we exited the elevator, one of the women asked me, "So are you riding your bike today?"

perhaps there's a new career for me.

05 February 2009

"look at that bitch in the back of the room"

Thus began the poem / song of the guy sitting next to me on the train.

Look at that bitch in the back of the room

Kick him in the face
Make him cry link a cont

A "cont"? Continued? A misspelling? What are you trying to say?!?!

And when did men become bitches? It's non-intuitive to me, unless one is making one another one's bitch. But that requires something active, not "looking at".

I will note that, on the page (of which there were several), there was a large gap between that fantastic opening line and the line with the kicking imperative. As if another thought, as-of-yet unformed or at least not-yet finalized, was going to fill it. What will those lines be? We may never know!

You say that I have changed
That everything is feeling strange

This was much later, on page 2 or 3. I'm woefully sorry I missed what was in-between, but this is clearly some kind of emotional watershed moment. I'll take a leap and say that he's probably no longer referring to the kicked bitch, but now a woman. Who is this woman? Does she know about the kicked man? Is she somehow responsible for the kicking, or even involved with the kicked man? Perhaps you feel strange, sir, because you kicked (in the face, and made him cry continuously) the new friend of your (ex-?) girlfriend.

Perhaps kicking people in the face is the changed behavior to which she refers! I can only hope your poem / song becomes published, so that I may learn the answers to all these fragment mysteries!

instructions


actually, sir, i CAN read it, and was indeed tempted to roll your vehicle.

01 February 2009